Bid To Unionize Bar Workers At Foxwoods

National labor officials will decide next week if bartenders at Foxwoods Resort Casino can vote to unionize. It’s the second time in just over a year that the United Food and Commercial Workers Union has attempted to organize at the casino. WNPR’s Harriet Jones reports.

The UFCW local 371 wants to see a secret ballot among 360 bar workers at the tribal owned casino. Last April they held a vote among the same workers under tribal law, but that effort failed. Tribal rules stipulate that eligible workers who don’t turn up for the ballot are counted as a no vote. Now, the National Labor Relations Board will rule if the union can hold the ballot under federal law, which requires only a 51% majority to approve unionization. Local 371 president Brian Petronella says he wants to follow the lead of the United Auto Workers which negotiated a contract on behalf of dealers at the casino.

“The UAW organized under the National Labor Relations Board, and then agreed to negotiate under tribal law. So we would agree to do the same thing – organize under the National Labor Relations Act, then if we win and become certified we would negotiate under tribal law.”

The owner of Foxwoods, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe has called the union’s approach an attack on its sovereignty. In a statement, Tribal Chairman Rodney Butler said the bid to pursue an election under federal law is extremely disrespectful of the tribe’s institutions.

For WNPR, I'm Harriet Jones.